Category Archives: Gaming Computers

Razer has an all-new, much cheaper external GPU launching alongside the new Blade 15. The Razer Core is a great product for folks who want the convenience of a laptop but also want a full-on gaming PC when they’re at home. It doesn’t just hook up a desktop graphics card to a Blade Stealth, but offers a plethora of connectivity. But it comes at a price. However, if you only want it for its GPU capabilities, there’s now another way. And it’s a lot more affordable. Razer Core X is a lower-priced eGPU for laptop gaming

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These are the very best keyboards you can buy for PC gaming. Best overall
Runner-up
Best under $100
Best budget mechanical
Best membrane
Best wireless

Best overall

Corsair K95

See at Amazon

The Corsair K95 is not cheap but you get a ridiculous amount of gaming keyboard for the price. You get a choice of Cherry MX Speed or Brown switches, the former being better for gaming while sacrificing a little in everyday use. The K95 is also packed with RGB lighting, macro keys and a really handy volume wheel. The K95 is built with an aluminum frame, so it will withstand the rigors of the daily gaming grind, textured keycaps in places such as the space bar, and 8MB of onboard storage for lighting and macro profiles so you don’t need access to any software to make them operate when you’re on the road. The K95 costs around $200 for the MX Brown version or $160 for the MX Speed. Best Gaming Keyboards in 2018

thumbnail courtesy of windowscentral.com

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The new Razer Blade is here and it’s going to be hard to resist. Our top pick for the best gaming laptop you can buy has been the Razer Blade for quite some time. Blending superb design with ultimate power and portability makes it hard not to recommend to anyone who wants a truly great gaming laptop. There have been refreshes to the existing 14-inch model over the last couple of years, but now, it’s being properly replaced. This is the all-new Razer Blade 15, and it’s going to knock your socks off. Razer Blade 15 hands-on: Your new favorite gaming laptop

thumbnail courtesy of windowscentral.com

This looks like a sweet laptop. I would like to try to pick one of these up soon.

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Even if you’re something of a PC gamer, you don’t necessarily need a powerful gaming laptop. Some customers are simply looking for a laptop with great build quality and features, plus a graphics chip just powerful enough to run some of their favorite games. Alas, many laptop vendors implement only low-end graphics hardware into non-gaming models, providing casual gamers an inferior experience.

An ideal chassis for casual gaming would be something like the Asus ROG Strix GL502 , which we reviewed in the middle of 2017. As it turns out, Asus has updated the ROG Strix with the GL503VD, a brand-new model with an updated chassis. Specifications Packaging Asus’ packaging is stylized with black ink and ROG and Asus logos, nearly identical with the previously reviewed GL502’s wrappings

. The top of the box has a plastic carrying handle, which makes transporting the laptop easy. The box interior is slightly updated. Gone is the plain brown cardboard, which is replaced by black cardboard with a holographic ROG logo on the inside cover. You’ll find the Strix on the very top, wrapped in cloth. Beneath the laptop are additional compartments housing the AC power cord, the 240V power brick, an information booklet, and a warranty card. The packaging is very straightforward. The Strix is well-protected, and the addition of black cardboard makes the presentation feel slightly more upscale. The rest of the presentation is the same, as nothing needed to be changed in the first place. Exterior Our first impression when we unboxed the Asus ROG Strix GL503VD was,

“ike the Asus Zephyrus.” The brushed-metal finish is a spitting image of the latter, with everything from the same finish to the chrome logo. Some key differences are the direction in which the brushed finish runs; the Zephyrus finish has a 45° brushed texture on the top half of the laptop and a 90° texture running vertically. The Strix is also split down the middle by a diagonal accent, ‘

but the brushed metal bias runs at 45° on both portions. Our only gripe with the finish is that fingerprints and smudges easily appear after normal use. This is a symptom all metal finishes present, and the Strix is no exception.

Finally, the Strix has “REPUBLIC OF GAMERS” printed in a subtle, almost unnoticeable black on the very bottom of the lid, whereas the Zephyrus has it printed in white. Similarly, the Strix has a reflective chrome ROG logo on the right side of the lid. When the system is powered, red LED lighting will emanate from behind the chrome. The main difference is the pattern, or rather the lack thereof, that shines through the logo. The Strix’s LEDs emit a solid light through the chrome logo, whereas the Zephyrus logo shines with a pindot pattern.

Speaking of LEDs, the Zephyrus’ diagonal accent has a grille from which additional red lighting emits; the Strix’s diagonal accent has no such lighting. The surface surrounding the input devices is constructed out of plastic, much like on the GL502, but the brushed-and-diagonal aesthetic from the lid makes its way here, as well.

The diagonal edge starts from the top left corner and ends at the bottom right corner. Above the diagonal, the plastic surface features a brushed texture, whereas the surface below the diagonal edge is smooth.

As a result, the smudges and fingerprints don’t show up as easily on the top right portion of the plastic surface, but are quite prominent on the bottom left half. Various logos decorate this surface: a Strix to the top left of the keyboard, […]

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Gaming Laptops are a lot of fun. This new gaming laptop by Eurocom combines speed, efficiency, and elegance. Its got a super fast SSD for hard drive and plenty of memory to carry the load. Combined with an ultra HD display, this Max-Q gaming laptop featuring Windows 10 is definitely a contender for top pick of early 2018.

Eurocom Q5 Max-Q Gaming Laptop Review

Nvidia first revealed Max-Q back in May, teasing 85-90% GPU efficiency in thinner and lighter laptops. The first such laptop we reviewed was the Asus ROG Zephyrus, which featured an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q design, and it delivered on all fronts. We’ve been itching to test another Max-Q laptop ever since.

Today we’ll be looking at the Eurocom Q5, a 0.74” gaming laptop featuring a GTX 1070 with Max-Q design.

Specifications

Packaging

The Eurocom Q5 is based off the Clevo P957HP6, so you can expect Clevo’s generic brown “Notebook Computer” packaging.

There’s a white plastic handle at the top of the

On the bottom left, beneath the keyboard, there are logo stickers highlighting a few of the Q5’s features, while the bottom right has a painted SoundBlasterX logo.

At the very top of the interior surface, you’ll find three red accents, adding much needed color to the almost entirely black surface. The middle red accent acts as the Q5’s power button, and it has a power logo in the dead center.

When the system is powered, a white LED turns on beneath the power button.

On the bottom left, beneath the keyboard, there are logo stickers highlighting a few of the Q5’s features, while the bottom right has a painted SoundBlasterX logo.

At the very top of the interior surface, you’ll find three red accents, adding much needed color to the almost entirely black surface. The middle red accent acts as the Q5’s power button, and it has a power logo in the dead center.

When the system is powered, a white LED turns on beneath the power button.

On the bottom left, beneath the keyboard, there are logo stickers highlighting a few of the Q5’s features, while the bottom right has a painted SoundBlasterX logo.

At the very top of the interior surface, you’ll find three red accents, adding much needed color to the almost entirely black surface.

The middle red accent acts as the Q5’s power button, and it has a power logo in the dead center. When the system is powered, a white LED turns on beneath the power button.

There are perforations dotted in and around the two red accents surrounding the power button; these perforations act as the Q5’s speakers, and are placed in the best possible position for audio clarity.

The speakers can reach maximum volume without experiencing much distortion. Hopefully, laptop manufacturers will notice this and implement top-facing speakers in future models.

The Q5’s 15.6” display has a relatively standard bezel as far as gaming laptops go. Unlike the rest of the chassis, the bezels are constructed out of plastic, but this area isn’t as critical.

The side bezels are 0.6875”, while the top bezel measures 0.875”. The bottom bezel is the longest, measuring 0.9375”.

There are two small rubber feet on the side bezels and three long rubber feet on the top and bottom bezels.

These separate the display from the interior surface when the lid is closed. The top bezel houses the 2.0 megapixel Full HD (1920×1080) webcam.

Finally, Eurocom’s logo is printed on the bottom bezel in white.

The Q5’s entire chassis is almost entirely constructed out of titanium-aluminum alloy, so the edges are merely continuations of the lid and interior surface, wrapped around into shape.

The front edge is plain, and only contains LED indicators for power/connectivity, charging, disk usage, and airplane mode.

The Q5 is 0.74” thin, so the RJ-45 LAN port on the right edge has a small clamp that only opens when you plug in an Ethernet cable.

Meanwhile, the left edge features ventilation for the Q5’s CPU. Finally, the rear edge is where things get interesting. You’ll find a red accent layer spanning nearly the entire length of the rear exhaust, giving some life to the mostly black color scheme.

The exhausts vents aren’t perfectly symmetrical; right side vents feature fewer cutouts, because they only have to accommodate the CPU, whereas the left side vents are fully exposed for the Max-Q GPU.

The bottom panel looks by far the most aggressive. It’s littered with air intake cutouts, which occupy nearly half of the panel’s surface area.

In between the intake cutouts, there is an angled accent spanning the length of the panel. Despite all of the cutouts, the metal construction remains robust and doesn’t fall victim to flexing.

The bottom panel has three rubber feet to keep the Q5 stable; there are two small feet near the front corners and one large foot near the rear edge. The rear foot is basically one large strip of rubber, and only the far left and right sides of the foot make contact with your desk.

Still, the large rubber foot is impressive to look at, and even more pleasing to feel.

Inside, you’ll find the Q5 wrapped in plastic and three blocks of protective closed-cell foam. Adjacent to the foam blocks, you’ll find a box containing the Q5’s 180W adapter and an AC power cord.

That’s it. No extra booklets or manuals. Just the laptop and its power accessories. The Q5’s manual can be found on Eurocom’s website.

The Q5’s packaging is as generic as you can get. This isn’t a negative, per se. However, competing Clevo resellers like Origin PC trek the extra mile by using their own branded packaging and extras (like posters). Our review of the Origin PC EON17-SLX illustrates the impressive unboxing experience.

Exterior

Luckily, the monotony ends with the packaging. When we finally got our hands on the Q5, we couldn’t help but feel astonished. The Q5 features an elegant black titanium-aluminum alloy construction that’s light yet sturdy.

The lid has tastefully placed angular accents running from the hinge to the top of the lid. There’s a decorative plastic strip spanning between where the lid accents meet the top edge of the lid, complementing the Q5’s aggressive aesthetic. Perhaps most impressive is the lid’s lighting effects.

In the very middle, there’s a translucent red plastic insignia, and there are two perforated strips located next to the angled accents. When the system is powered, the insignia and perforations emit a red light.

The interior area surrounding the input devices is also constructed out of titanium-aluminum alloy, which is pleasant to the touch but attracts fingerprints and smudges rather easily.

‘Fortunately, the surface is easy to clean, at least compared to brushed-aluminum and rubberized plastic, which competing manufacturers tend to implement.

[…]

Find out about all of the other great features in this gaming laptop below.

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A gaming computer is a huge investment so its always important to do good research before you make a purchase. I have been very impressed with the other gaming computers by MSI in the past and there is a lot of buzz about this one already. For well under $2,000 this bad boy packs a punch with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD hard drive. On top of that look at it. It looks sweet!

MSI Infinite Review: A Truly ‘Lit’ Gaming PC

Even in an age when gaming PCs with massive, alien-inspired chassis and tons of flashy lights are commonplace, the MSI Infinite (starting at $1,599; $1,799 as tested) manages to stand out.

This gaming monster is loaded with smart design touches, from its stunning, customizable LED strip to a plethora of front-facing ports that make connecting VR headsets and USB Type-C gadgets easy.

It doesn’t skimp on performance, either, with an Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card that can handle VR and high-end games without breaking a sweat.

While you can find more compact and easier-to-upgrade PCs for the price, the MSI Infinite is a great premium PC for folks who care about looks above all else.

A Glowing Artifact

It’s been a long time since I’ve been genuinely excited over a gaming desktop’s design, but the MSI Infinite changed all of that.

With sharp, jarring angles and no shortage of glowing lights, the Infinite looks like an artifact you’d find in an enemy base in Destiny rather than something meant to sit in an office.

I was immediately captivated by the Infinite’s front-facing LED strip, which features a slick sci-fi pattern that can glow in all kinds of cool ways.

While most gaming PCs settle for static or breathing lighting effects, the Infinite can send light bouncing up and down, mimic a kaleidoscope or sync its lighting with your PC audio, just to name a few.

Couple that with the customizable lighting on the GPU and motherboard, and the MSI Infinite can quickly turn into a dizzying display of LED action that should please folks who like loud color combinations.

Speaking of loud designs, the Infinite measures 19.2 x 17.7 x 8.3 inches, so it will eat up a good chunk of your desk area.

It’s notably bigger than similar PCs such as the Alienware Aurora (18.6 x 14.1 x 8.3 inches), though not quite as towering as high-end monsters such as the Origin Millennium (21.4 x 24.8 x 9.75 inches) and the Maingear Rush (24 x 21.5 x 8.6 inches).

While the Infinite weighs a hefty 28 pounds, it’s fairly easy to lug around thanks to a convenient handle near the top of the machine.

Key Specs

MSI Infinite

Starting Configuration

Our Configuration

Price

$1,599

$1,799

CPU

Intel Core i7-7700

Intel Core i7-7700

RAM

16GB

16GB

Storage

256GB SSD + 2TB, 7,200-rpm hard drive

512GB SSD

GPU

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080

Size and Weight

19.2 x 17.7 x 8.3 inches, 28 pounds

19.2 x 17.7 x 8.3 inches, 28 pounds

Future-Ready Ports

Between its handy port selection and easy upgradability, the Infinite is a pretty future-proof gaming machine. The PC features the usual headphone/mic jacks and two USB ports (one 2.0, one 3.0) right up front, in addition to a USB Type-C port for newer gadgets as well as a very useful front-facing HDMI port for VR headsets.

The rear ports should cover the rest of your needs. In the back, there are two USB 2.0 ports, three USB 3.0 ports, a USB Type-C port and line-in, line-out and mic jacks for audio. There are even two PS/2 ports in the rear, in case you’re clinging to an older mouse or keyboard. The Infinite’s Nvidia GTX 1080 GPU sports three DisplayPorts, an HDMI port and a VGA port for easy multimonitor connectivity.

To get inside the Infinite, all I had to do was remove three screws and slide off the side panel. From there, you can easily swap in more RAM, though you’ll have to keep your screwdriver handy if you want to replace any other components.

Gaming Performance

The MSI Infinite is a bonafide gaming beast, tearing through most of our benchmarks with ease, thanks to its Nvidia GTX 1080 graphics card.

MSI’s desktop ran the stylish stealth action of Hitman (1080p, max settings) at a supersmooth 123 frames per second, barely trailing the Corsair One (129 fps, GTX 1080) and topping our 86-fps desktop average. When we cranked things up to 4K, the Infinite turned in a very impressive 65.8 fps.

On the more graphically intense Rise of the Tomb Raider (1080p, max settings), the Infinite rendered Lara Croft and her snowy surroundings at 64.7 fps. Again, that trails the Corsair One (72 fps) by just a bit while topping our 29-fps average.